Automaker Stellantis will receive $585 million in grants from the Biden administration, including nearly $335 million for its idled plant in Belvidere, to help expand its electric vehicle manufacturing, the White House said Thursday.
Stellantis, whose brands include Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge, had announced in October that it would reopen the Belvidere plant as part of its contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers.
An agreement to reopen the plant was a big win for the union, which held a six-week strike last year in several states, including Illinois, to demand better pay and job protections. The Belvidere plant, which made the Jeep Cherokee, had closed in February 2023 and laid off 1,350 workers.
In addition to Stellantis, the Energy Department is awarding grants totaling $1.7 billion to General Motors and other carmakers to create or retain thousands of union jobs. The grants will also help boost EV manufacturing and assembly sites in eight states — Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, Maryland and Virginia.
Matt Frantzen, president of UAW Local 1268, which represents workers at the Belvidere plant, said on Friday that the Energy Department’s grants are “great news.”
“We have added a small workforce to handle the parts distribution center within the plant,” Frantzen said. “Other than that, nothing has changed. It'll take some time before the majority of the work gets started on refurbishing the plant.”
Stellantis' agreement with the UAW had called for the company to make a nearly $5 billion investment in Belvidere. There's still no official timeline for re-opening, though the original target was 2027.
A new battery facility will be built on the property, west of the Belvidere plant, and should be running in 2028, Frantzen said. Stellantis had previously pledged to build a new $3.2 billion battery plant in Illinois.
Frantzen estimated the total workforce for Stellantis in Belvidere would be around 5,000 UAW members after it reopens. Parts suppliers could also create an additional 1,000 to 1,500 jobs.
The federal grants cover a broad range of the automotive supply chain, including parts for electric motorcycles and school buses, hybrid powertrains, heavy-duty commercial truck batteries and electric SUVs, the White House said.
Awards are subject to negotiations to ensure that commitments to workers and communities are met, officials said. The Energy Department also will complete environmental reviews before money is awarded later this year.
If awards are completed as planned, the selected projects would create more than 2,900 jobs and help ensure that about 15,000 union workers are retained across all 11 facilities, the White House said.
Stellantis said in an emailed statement that it's “pleased to have been selected by the Department of Energy to proceed to the next phase of the Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant application process. This is an important step in continuing to work toward finalizing a sustainable solution for the Belvidere Assembly Plant."
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement, “For nearly two years we have been intensely focused on creating an environment in the state for the successful return of the Stellantis plant in Belvidere. Because of this funding and the work we’ve done to make Illinois an electric vehicle manufacturing hub, this facility will make our state’s clean energy economy stronger than ever before.”
Illinois has set an aggressive goal of 1 million EVs in the state by 2030. It has also invested in charging infrastructure and incentivized manufacturers to build facilities, train workers and create thousands of jobs, according to Pritzker.
For example, battery maker Gotion will build an EV battery factory in Manteno in Kankakee County, while EV manufacturer Rivian has invested more than $2 billion in Normal and produced over 100,000 vehicles since 2021, among other projects in the state.
Contributing: AP
